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ADDRESS 




DELIVEKED BEFORE THE 



WAYI^E COUJSITY 




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OCTOBER 2, 1874, 



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By W. L. HEADLEY, 



OF NEW YORK CITY. 




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NEU' YORK': 
Edgak Hoyt, Law Pecintkk, 58 John Street. 



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ADDRESS 



Mr. President and Citizens of Wayne County : 

I come before you to-day at this your annual meeting, 
by your kind invitation, to address you upon subjects not 
only pertaining to your business as farmers, but on such, 
if possible, as may be interesting to you as citizens and 
as men : and in the multitude of subjects crowding on my 
mind, I have endeavored to select such as are not worn 
and hackneyed by constant use; such as have not been 
dwelt upon so much and so often ; such as have not been 
the theme of the orator so many times that they have be- 
come tiresome and distasteful to you. Were I to talk 
to you of the details of practical farming, of the manage- 
ment or conduct of a dairy, of the rearing of animals, or 
of anything else which you are every day engaged in do- 
ing, your politeness would induce you to listen to me, but 
you would know nevertheless that you were listening to 
one who knew less of the subjects he was talking about 
than you know yourselves. 

Yet in a general way these are material matters to con- 
sider at such a time as this ; but only in a general way. 
For, to explain these matters in detail, would require 
much more than the brief space of time to which I can 
claim your attention, and would subject me to the charge 
of encroaching upon the peculiar province of the essay- 
ist and the bookmaker. 



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There are things outside of your every-day duties, 
things important to you as citizens and particularly im- 
portant to you as fathers of the coming generation for 
whom you hold this broad country in trust, and with 
whom you are to leave it when you pass into the world 
of spirits. 

You owe duties not only to yourselves, but to those 
who are to follow you, and among those duties is that of 
preserving the purity and productiveness of the land it- 
self, that on which the life of all mankind depends. And 
the means of doing that, demands, and should command 
the attention of men everywhere, and at all times. 

I need not tell you how much you, more than people of 
any other trade, profession or occupation, have this 
great matter in charge. 

The surface of the earth is in your keeping, and upon 
your actions and your treatment of the land you occupy, 
depends the question whether this country shall increase 
in productiveness or become a barren desert. 

In looking back to times the most remote, and tracing 
the history of man, and the changes in the soil and cli- 
mate of the globe through successive generations until 
now, we learn that in all those parts of the earth where 
the land is now sterile and unproductive, where cities 
are in ruins, and the inhabitants ignorant, feeble and im- 
poverished, or lapsing into barbarism; the soil was once 
fertile and productive, the inhabitants were vigorous and 
prosperous, and their future looked bright and fair like 
ours. 

For these great changes — these alterations of the 
earth's surface, and the consequent decay or destruction of 
the inhabitants themselves, there is a cause about which 
it is not unprofitable for us to inquire. For it may be, and 
and in my opinion it is a fact; that the seeds of that same 
disease are planted here; that in this our favored land, the 



same causes which operated to destroy the favored nations 
of the Old World, that laid the foundations for the ruins 
of Tyre and Sidon, that dwarfed the cedars of Lebanon, 
and changed even the surface of the earth itself, are here 
gradually working the same disastrous results. 

What then are those causes, and what more profitable 
and interesting question can we consider than the things, 
the habits, and the practices which are productive of 
such results ? 

Although there may be, and doubtless are, many causes 
which have actually contributed to the decay of nations 
to the impoverishment of the soil and the people, yet among 
those causes I know of no one so certain in its effects, so 
fatal in its consequences, as the destruction of forest trees: 
and because this is so clear to my own mind, I particu- 
larly desire to impress my views upon you who listen to 
me to-day. 

While discharging the every day duties of life, and ab- 
sorbed in the cares, trials and perplexities thereof, we 
are all too apt to lose sight of the great, broad questions 
of national interest, political economy, and the public 
good ; or if we make efforts to be public benefactors, we 
are too apt to gauge our acts by the rule that would make 
those acts certain to result in the most immediate pecuni- 
ary profit. We can easily understand how that man is a 
public benefactor who makes two blades of grass grow 
where but one grew before, but we also understand how 
in that case the most ungenerous man can afford to be a 
public benefactor, and how actuated by the certainty of 
immediate profits he may become such benefactor with- 
out a thought of the public good. But he who, although 
one among millions, faithfully does his duty in the pres- 
ervation, or cultivation if necessary, of a due proportion 
of forest trees, is doing in that respect, his part in laying 
the foundation of national greatness, and rendering ser- 



vice to coming generations. To the selfish man it may 
seem to be labor without reward. But the real philan- 
thropist — the man whose feelings of humanity make him 
more, even than a patriot, the consciousness of having 
rendered mankind a service is an ample and ever continu- 
ing reward. 

It may be said by some who have never seriously con- 
sidered this question, that in this country, which is com- 
paratively new, we have forest trees in abundance, and 
even in excess of our wants ; and such persons may sup- 
pose that trees are useful only for timber and for fuel, 
and that when they cannot be profitably raised for that 
purpose they should not be allowed to cumber the 
ground. 

It is this error which I fear too extensively prevails 
that I wish to combat, and which, if possible, I would 
gladly remove. 

Although forest trees are useful for timber and for fuel, 
yet it is not for those purposes that they are most useful : 
but as they affect the climate and the land from which 
the trees have been removed as they affect the vapors in 
the air, the rainfalls, the fertility of the soil, and the 
health and mental vigor of the people are they most use- 
ful. 

When fresh from the hands of God the world was given 
to man, it was clothed with a forest growth, and so long 
as a due proportion of forest trees was left, the land was 
fertile and productive everywhere. But the avaric^tand 
ignorance of man caused him to remove the trees as fast 
as he could make the cultivated fields more immediately 
profitable in a pecuniary point of view, and in that way, 
each man feeling that he could do what he pleased with 
his own, hills, plains, townships, principalities, and even 
whole kingdoms were cleared of their forests, or nearly 
so, and their decay and ruin followed. 



Think not that I attach too much importance to this 
matter. If such disastrous results have followed the de- 
struction of forests, no subject can be more important, or 
at least more profitable to consider at a time like this. 

Do not understand me as expressing the opinion that 
land should not be cleared of trees or timber, or that for- 
ests should remain in their primitive condition every- 
where, or that very serious evil has yet been done in this 
country by the destruction of forests. To leave the land 
an unbroken wilderness would be to leave it unfit for the 
habitation of civilized men, and to reduce mankind to a 
state of barbarism. I believe in the cultivation of as 
much of the earth's surface as possible, and would pre- 
serve a due proportion of forests for the use, preservation 
and productiveness of the cultivated parts ; and to show 
that it is necessary for that purpose, and for the health 
and happiness of mankind, will be the burden of my dis- 
course to-day. 

Without designating any in particular, I have already 
alluded to the growth, prosperity and decay of nations in 
the old world ; nor need I name any in particular ; for 
merely speaking of them in general terms will instantly 
recall to the mind of ever}^ one of you the name, history, 
and geographical location of many such. 

In the Sacred Scriptures we have all read of the extra- 
ordinary productions of those Eastern lands. We have 
had described to us a land flowing with milk and honey. 
We are told of the immense population those lands sup- 
ported, of the armies that could be raised there, of the vil- 
lages and cities that were built up and supported from 
their productiveness, of the prosperity of the inhabitants, 
of their trade and traffic, and of the commerce on their 
inland seas. 

Now all is changed. The traveler, fresh from the 
perusal of the glowing descriptions of those nations, 



as contained in the ancient records, is so invaria- 
bly disappointed when he sees them, that all rever- 
ence even for their ^sacred associations is apt to be 
destroyed. Those hills that were once covered with 
verdure, and on which the cedar and the palm tree grew, 
are now mere naked prominences on the earth's sur- 
face, or at the most, showing here and there a scraggy 
bush or shrub. Those plains which in those early days 
were rich with vegetation, where the vine and the fig 
tree yielded their fruit, and the soil of which gave back an 
hundred fold as the reward of cultivation, are now mere 
arid deserts, dried and parched to sterility by the almost 
continuous drouths and the heated rays of the sun. The 
rivers or streams of which mention is made so often in 
sacred history, have disappeared, or dwindled into streams 
so small that they cannot now be recognized from any 
descriptions in the sacred records, and even the famous 
sea of Gallilee, on which our Saviour sailed in ships, has 
shrunk into a lake so small and shallow that a ship could 
not now be used upon its waters. 

These being facts, they are the result of a cause. In my 
opinion the cause, that is, the principal cause, is the de- 
struction of the trees. That the trees were destroyed, 
that they are gone is certain ; and it is equally certain 
that after their destruction the rain falls ceased to a great 
extent, the inhabitants were compelled to resort to arti- 
ficial irrigation to raise or preserve their crops, and finally 
became unable from the soil to raise sufficient for the sup- 
port of the inhabitants ; and the downfall and decay of the 
nations followed. Moving westward, nation after nation 
was destroyed by the same means. For evidence of which 
we need only look to Western Asia and Northern Africa. 
In other and more intelligent parts of Europe the inhabi- 
tants are awakening to the terrible reality, and in some 
countries, in France in particular, the preservation of 
trees has become a subject of governmental legislation. 



But it may be asked how is it possible for trees to af- 
fect the vapors in the air, the formation of clouds, or the 
fall of rain. Let me say to such, that observation, careful 
examination, and scientific experiments have shown and 
established the fact that trees not only do have that ef- 
fect, but that they have it to an astonishing extent. The 
quantity of moisture preserved and disaharged daily by 
invisible evaporation by a single tree, is almost marvel- 
"^Lous. Scientists and students of nature have made this a 
subject of careful study and investigation. They have 
proved that a branch of a tree on which leaves are grow- 
ing, discharges in twenty-four hours by invisible evapor- 
ation, water double its own weight. That has been test- 
ed by enclosing the limb in a glass case and hermeti- 
cally sealing it around the limb, thus gathering and pre- 
serving in the vessel the moisture or vapor which would 
otherwise have escaped into the air. This vapor gather- 
ing into little drops and trickling down in the vessel, in 
the short space of twenty-four hours has been found to be so 
great in quantity,that as before stated it is double the weight 
of the limb itself The same fact has been proved by other 
experiments. How great then must be the quantity of 
vapor sent out into the atmosphere every day by a single 
tree. And if so much is given out by a single tree, what im- 
mense -quantities are given out by whole forests, and if the 
destruction of forests stops or prevents the diffusion or 
discharge of so much moisture into the atmosphere, is it to 
be wondered at that their destruction should produce 
drouths or diminish the quantity of rain, or sensibly af- 
fect the climate and health of the people ? That trees have 
power to discharge such immense quantities of water we 
all have other means of knowing. A maple tree will dis- 
charge from eight to thirty-two gallons of sap in twenty- 
four hours, as has been proved by actual experiment; and 
birch and some other trees will discharge still more. All 



"8 

this, were the trees untouched by man, would pass out 
into the open air by invisible evaporation from the leaves ; 
and not only this, but more. Indeed the quantity of 
moisture drawn by incisions from a tree, would not pre- 
vent, or even lessen the breathing action of the leaves, or 
the discharge of vapor from them. 

It may seem to a casual observer that great as the quan- 
tity of moisture distributed by the life and action of the 
trees may be, it cannot be necessary for the formation of 
clouds, or the production of moisture in the vicinity of 
large bodies of water, from which vapors arise and clouds 
are formed. But such is not the fact. On the Islands of 
Trinidad, Martinique, San Domingo, and most of the 
West India group, the trees have in late years been cut off 
to a great extent, and just in the proportion that they 
have been denuded of trees, have the rain falls ceased, and 
the deplorable consequences are now being felt in the loss 
of crops and the increasing unproductiveness of the soil. 
There is something peculiar — something almost 
mysterious in the action of forest trees in the 
production of clouds, and in causing the fall 
of rains. It is not alone the quantity of vapors distri- 
buted by them, but it seems to be the quality or kind of 
vapor, and it may have a sort of chemical action, of which 
results only can be known. This we do know, thalf in the 
vicinity of lakes, on the shores and islands of the sea, the 
removalof the forests will make the land a desert; and 
that in that respect there is no perceptible difference be- 
tween lands surrounded by water, and lands in the inte- 
rior of a continent. 

I would gladly, if time permitted, direct your attention 
to the different nations of the world where the disastrous 
effects of the destruction of forests have most been felt, and 
so, more clearly prove to you that it would have been for 
them, and would be now for us, a wise economy to pre- 



serve beyond the possibility of loss, a due proportion of 
all our lands as an unbroken forest — at least one-fifth, if 
not one-quarter. 

For if it is a fact, that in all those parts of the world 
where the land has been cleared of its trees, the whole of 
the land has become sterile and unproductive, the inhabi- 
tants have become impoverished, and the nations have 
been destroyed or ruined, there can be no subject more 
important to you ; and that such is the case, is conceded 
by all persons who have given the subject their atten- 
tion, and who have examined or inquired into the facts. 

Indeed so important do I consider it, that I would, were 
it in my power, so preserve the forests by legislation or by 
constitutional provision if necessary. 

In ancient times Palestine and other parts Asia and 
Northern Africa were the granaries of Europe. The 
land was so fertile and productive that the inhabitants 
could not afford to leave it, or any considerable part of it, 
unused merely to allow trees to grow, from which they 
received no annual profit, and ignorant perhaps of the 
effect that the destruction of the trees would have on the 
tillable land, they gradually encroached upon the forests, 
until in time they were all removed; and alas ! the land 
became desolate. The traveler now passing over these 
arid plains can hardly realize that they were once covered 
with farm houses, and orchards, and vineyards, and fields 
of waving grain; that a happy, prosperous people dwelt 
there, that the hill sides were clothed with verdure and 
that streams of water once flowed through the valleys. 
Now all is desolation. The farm houses and the vine- 
yards are gone, the cities are in ruins, and all material ev- 
idences of trade, business and prosperity have disap- 
peared. 

The few human beings who wander over the plains are 
found by the traveler to be but one remove from 



savages, and act no useful part in life. The streams are 
dried, and the hills are naked in the sun. 

These are wonderful changes, and when we reflect that 
they have all been caused by the destruction of the trees, 
how serious does the consideration of that one question 
become. How suggestive it is to us. But it may be said that 
lam assuming too much, in assuming that all this change, 
this ruin, and this destruction, has been caused by the 
mere destruction of the trees. Allow me to say that in 
entertaining this view I do not stand alone. 

It is assumed and asserted, and as I think logically 
proved by writers who have given the subject their most 
careful attention. Without wearying you with referen- 
ces, allow me to cite the words of one of our most learned 
writers upon the subject. George P. Marsh in his valu- 
able work entitled " Man and Nature" at page 189, in 
speaking ol Palestine and other parts of Asia and North- 
ern Africa, and of their fertility and prosperity in ancient 
times, says : "These lands are now deserts, and it is the 
" destruction of the forests alone which has produced this 
" desolation." 

I might multiply authorities upon that question, but 
they are not needed. Whoever will examine the question 
will be convinced without the aid of the opinions of 
others. 

In France the population has long been dense and no- 
thing but governmental restraint has prevented the short- 
sighted inhabitants from destroying the productiveness of 
the soil by destroying the trees. As it is, in many parts 
the damage has been terrible. In the department of 
Ardeche nearly all the woodland was cut off about thirty 
years ago ; and which was followed by great changes in 
the climate. The rain falls have diminished, and the late 
V-rosts in the spving, which were before unknown, have in- 
jured and destroyed the vegetation to an alarming extent. 



n 

It is known there now that nothing but a restoration of 
the trees can restore the former state of things. Similar 
evil results have followed the destruction of trees on the 
plains of Alsace. 

Since the cutting off of the woods of the Appenines the 
cold winds shrink and destroy vegetation, spring is much 
later than formerly, and the Mulberry trees on which the 
prosperity of the people depended, are destroyed, except 
in those parts where the woodland is left. 

There are additional evils which result from the des- 
truction of the woodland. It is not alone to save the land 
from drouths or want of moisture that the trees are use- 
ful or absolutely necessary ; but to save the land from 
frosts in spring, and from the devasting force of winds 
they are also useful agents. And when I say that to save 
the land from the devasting force of winds they are use- 
ful, I do not wish to be understood as meaning that they 
save the land by merely breaking the force of the winds. 
I go farther than that, and say that they not only break 
the force of the storms but they prevent severe winds and 
tornadoes ; or in other words the destruction of forests is 
followed invariably by severe aarial disturbances and 
the denuded district is then visited by violent winds such 
as were never known before. Innumerable proofs of this 
fact might be cited. 

Allow me to refer you to one case which is a matter of 
history. The terrible North- West wind called a mistral^ 
which rendered Cervennes in France almost unfit for hab- 
itation, was entirely unknown before the destruction of 
the woodland which was all destroyed at one time in a mass 
by order of the Emperoi Augustus. That destruction 
was immediately followed by the Mistral, which swept 
the land and kept it stripped and bare thereafter. The 
superstitious inhabitants regarded it as a curse sent from 
God, and raised altars and offered sacrifices to appease its 



12 

rage. Their plan however was a failure. Nothing but a 
restoration of the woodland could cure the evil. 

I have given you so far at least two reasons why the 
forests should be preserved, and why upon that subject 
we should be careful to make no mistake. But those are 
not all. The forest trees act other important parts in 
the economy of nature. Useful, indeed necessary, as they 
are for the purposes named, useful as they are for lumber 
and fuel, in many, many other quiet ways they are daily 
serving man. The chemical effect of the trees on the at- 
mosphere, by absorbing the carbon exhaled by animals, 
and developed by animal and vegetable decomposition, 
and by exhaling oxygen in return is not only wonderful, 
but to it we owe our health and even life itself Within 
the tree is a labratory, the secrets of which no man can 
ever learn, where silently and noiselessly a work is being 
constantly done, the benefits of which mankind enjoy 
without money and without price. Do we sufficiently ap- 
preciate itl Do we reflect that without this chemical ac- 
tion — that but for the preservation of the purity of the at- 
mosphere by the working of this silent machinery, opera- 
ted by forces mysterious and powerful beyond the com- 
prehension of man, all mankind would die 1 all animal 
life would cease upon the earth ? Yet such is the case. 
But as it is furnished to us free by the giver of all good, 
and operated without our labor or our care, we fail to 
concern ourselves about its uses or its benefits, and enjoy 
it without thanks, as we do the many other bounties of 
nature- 

I have talked to you already of the terrible penalty 
that the inhabitants of other nations have paid for their 
disregard of the great blessings shown them, and their 
rejection of such priceless gifts. Let us have a care that 
we do not follow in their footsteps, that we do not imitate 
their folly. 



13 

While considering this question of the beneficial effect 
of trees in preserving the humidity of the atmosphere, and 
in promoting rainfalls, I have spoken more particularly 
of results, the want of time rendering it impossible for me 
to trace back those causes to their effects. But there is 
one fact before stated, sufficiently important to warrant a 
further explanation. I have stated to you that lands 
bordering on the sea, or other great bodies of water, even 
islands, become subject to drouths, and become sterile 
and desolate for that reason, if the trees are removed, not- 
withstanding there is water without limit near them, and 
fogs and vapors arise all around them. And to prove that 
fact I referred to islands in the West India group where 
such results have followed the destruction of the trees. 
One explanation not before given is that trees are con- 
ductors of electricity, and seize upon and conduct to the 
earth electricity, and also the vapors passing along. In 
this way the moisture in fogs and clouds, whether arising 
from the sea or the land, is not only seized and detained, 
but this electrical action of the trees has in some mysteri- 
ous way, which science has never been able to explain, 
an effect upon the clouds in condensing the vapors and 
conducting them to the earth in the form of rain. 

Another effect which woodland has, is to prevent hail 
storms, water spouts, and other atmospherical disturban- 
ces; or more properly speaking, the destruction of the 
woodland causes, or is followed by such storms and com- 
motions. 

These are ascertained to be electrical disturbances; and 
when we know how important a part the trees perform 
in equalizing the electricity of the earth and the air, we 
can easily understand how certain and natural it is, that 
these commotions in the atmosphere should follow their 
removal or destruction. 

Trees, too, as we all know, ure conductors of heat, con- 



14 

ducting heat to the earth when the earth is coldest, and 
to the air when the air is coldest, thus equalizing the tem- 
perature of the earth and air, and partially explaining 
why it is that the removal of the trees is followed by the 
extension of winter into spring, and spring into summer, 
making those seasons late, and causing the late frosts 
so injurious to grain and fruit. 

By way of illustration, I have referred more particular- 
ly to the effect of the destruction of forests in other coun- 
tries. But because I have spoken only of such lands by 
name, I would not have you infer that I think no mischief 
has been done in this country. As I have stated be- 
fore, I think no very serious evil has yet been done in this 
country by the destruction of forests, that is; as compared 
with the evil done in other lands. But great damage has 
already been done, and greater still will follow, unless the 
people or the government shall act promptly in checking 
the havoc that is fast being made. 

Indeed the danger is now greater here than it ever ap- 
peared to be at any one time in any other nation upon the 
earth. We, Americans, are a progressive people, and 
in making the progress which we are making, and of 
which we boast, we are a destructive people. As the hun- 
ter on the prairie will destroy hundreds of buffalo in mere 
wantonness, so will the pioneer or the lumberman sweep 
away acre after acre of woodland, with no concern for the 
future, or thought upon the subject, except as to how far 
it will promote his convenience, or result in his immedi- 
ate profit, however small. And farmers, finding tillable 
land more profitable than woodland, hesitate not to de- 
stroy the woodland by burning or otherwise, thinking no- 
thing of the future, or caring less; and thus our country is 
fast becoming denuded of its forests, and in a fair way 
to become like the ruined kingdoms of the old world, a 
land of naked hills and barren plains. 



15 

Already the effects of such short-sightedness and folly 
are manifest in many parts, in the disturbances in the at- 
mosphere, in the long continued drouths, in the impov- 
erishment of the soil, and in the shrinking of the streams. 
And good men, lovers of their country, laboring with lit- 
tle effect to prevent the ruin that they see so strong a 
prospect of in the future, look sadly on, hoping still that the 
evil may yet be seen and understood, and checked be- 
fore it is too late. 

The recognition of this tact, and this feeling of sorrow 
and regret, is beautifully expressed by one of our mod- 
ern poets in language like this : 

''Before these fields were shorn and tilled, 
Full to the brim our rivers flowed, 

The melody of waters filled 
The free and^boundless wood. 

And torrents dashed, and rivulets played, 

And fountains spouted in the shade. 

These grateful sounds are heard no more, 

The streams are silent in the sun, 
The rivers by the blackening shore 

With lessening current run. 
The realms our tribes were crushed to o-et. 
May be a barren desert yet." 

Inasmuch as with our progressive spirit we are moving 
on with greater rapidity than did ever nations in the old- 
en time, and as here, with us, change follows change in 
such rapid succession, ages will not be required, nor will 
many generations, to bring about these changes so much 
to be feared and deplored, unless a remed}^ is applied, and 
applied early. And it is for this reason that I felt when I 
received your kind invitation to come here to this coun- 
ty of my nativity, this home of my childhood, to address 
those whom I am anxious to call my friends, that I could 



16 

do no better service than to talk to you mainly upon 
this subject; one that is really more important to you, and 
to the country at large, than any other matter or thing 
that I could make the subject of my discourse. And feeling 
intensely upon the subject myself, I shall be content if 
I can make impression enough upon my hearers to in- 
duce any of them to make this matter a subject of reflec- 
tion and inquiry. And now before leaving it I wish further 
to add, that in those parts of the world where the inhab- 
itants for the purpose of repairing the damage caused by 
the destruction of the woodland, or for other reasons, have 
replanted or cultivated trees, and so restored the forests; 
the long continued drouths have ceased, rain storms have 
followed, and the water has commenced and continued to 
flow over the beds of streams that have long been 
dry, the surrounding lands have again become fertile, 
the atmosphere pure, and the inhabitants healthful. 

For proof of this I might refer you to parts of Belguim, 
to the vicinity of Antwerp, and to the Plateau of La 
Hague, where merely planting and cultivating rows of 
trees have changed the climate, tempered the winds, and 
made fertile the land. 

Also to the Island of St. Helena where the extension 
of the wooded surface within a few years has increased 
the rain fall to such an extent, that the average fall of 
water is twice that of former 3^ears. 

Also to Egypt, where through the enterprising spirit 
of a modern ruler, plantations have been started and cul- 
tivated by artificial irrigation, so that now full-grown 
trees cover the once barren wastes, and the rains have be- 
come frequent where they were scarcely ever known be- 
fore. 

I might also refer you to the results of such experi- 
ments in Scotland, and in parts of Northern France, and 
to. the. vicinity of Salt Lake in this country. But on this 



subject I have said enough, what I wish more particular- 
ly than all else, is to interest you in the subject of the 
preservation of the trees. Once destroyed, no argument is 
necessary to show the irreparable injury caused by their 
destruction. The trouble is that man's life is short, and 
we appreciate that fact too much, as it seems to me. Man 
is too apt to live only for the present, on the principle of 
''after me the deluge" — and the world and its condition 
alter he shall have passed away, does not sufficiently con- 
cern him. Yet here in this country as great sacrifices have 
been voluntarily made by our forefathers for us, as were 
ever voluntarily made by any people; and so, we owe a 
corresponding debt and duty to the generations that are 
to follow us, Ungrateful should we be — unworthy should 
we be, of the blessings of freedom and prosperity which 
we now enjoy, should we fail to preserve and hand down 
to the coming generations this fair heritage of ours unin- 
jured, and unimpaired. 

And now my friends I must leave this subject of forest 
trees; but I leave it with regret, indulging in the hope, 
however, that what I have said may be productive of 
some good. We know how great results will How some- 
times from trifling causes, and we all know that now in 
these modern days, farmers in their thoughts, studies, and 
acts, are not so confined and contracted as were the tillers 
of the soil in ancient times. We have evidence of this in 
the vast improvements which we see everwhere around 
us. 

Fifty years ago, deep buried in the bosom of the wil- 
derness, the lonely pioneers of this county beat back, with 
axe and fire, the "empire of shade and savageism" from 
their log-cabins, and now where their solitary habitations 
once stood, we behold the farmhouse, the factory and the 
stately mansion. 

Where the tall forest trees through this valley lifted 



IS 

tiieir awful tbnris in countless numbers far and near 
in the grandeur of their solitude, to-day the church 
spires of Honesdale reflect the autumnal sun beams, 
and cast their shadows over a growing and prosperous city. 
All these give evidences of the glorious changes that man's 
industry hath wrought for our good; and should be to you 
and me an example which it should be our love and duty 
to emulate. May we be half as deserving of the admira- 
tion of those who may occupy the earth after us, as 
they who made this land what it is; some of whom rest 
from their labors in the bosom of the soil that they 
cultivated, and some of whom are with us to-day, 
whose silver locks, like Cicero's, have deservedly 
"purchased them mens' good opinions." God bless the 
evening of their days. 

Many of you who hear me now can doubtless remem- 
ber the time when these hills and valleys were an almost 
unbroken wilderness — when the wolf's long howl woke the 
forest echoes, and the wild deer and the bear yet disputed 
man's possessions. It is within the lifetime of many 
now living, when farming was carried on in the 
territory now comprising this county, without the aid 
of any of the inventions or improvements which 
we now see all around us; when without roads or 
bridges the inhabitants were comparatively secluded 
from the rest of the world; and when without any but 
the rudest agricultural implements, the cultivation of the 
land was carried on. 

A few years have passed away, and behold the change! 
Language is inadequate to express it. A few hours ago 
and I, who now address you was hundreds of 
miles away. With a rapidity which in those early days 
was never even prophesied, we are whirled past cities and 
villages, over rivers, and through fields and groves, cross- 
ing townships and counties, and even states in a single 



19 

day; and everywhere we see as I see around me here, evi- 
dences' of wealth and refinement, of progress andimprove- 
ment. The land which was formerly of little worth is 
now of great value — lands once sold at fifty cents an acre, 
are now worth as many dollars. Your fields are in a high 
state of cultivation. Beautiful farm houses and orchards 
dot your plains, and the streams that flow through your 
vallej's are not allowed to run un wasted to the sea. These 
changes have all been wrought in these few years, and all 
by the intelligence, the industry, and the liberality of 
the farmers. Of this there is no better evidence than the 
organization and existence of this association, this county 
society. By thus organizing yourselves into an associa- 
tion you contribute to each other your thoughts, ideas, 
and inventions. You give the results of experiments, and 
you properly act on the principle that your " light is 
none the less for lighting j^our neighbors." This is the 
kind of liberality by which both the giver and the receiver 
are benefitted, and this it is, that has caused, the careful 
study, the experiments, and friendly rivalry which is 
productive of so much good. 

We see this in the improved condition of the horses,' the 
cattle and other animals which have been brought to this 
your annual gathering. We see it in the fruits and veg- 
etables brought here for exhibition. 

The producer of these, shows what he has done, and he 
tells how it is done, and he says to his neighbor '^go thou 
and do likewise." With this state of feeling existing 
among farmers, followed as it is by a willingness of in- 
dividuals to act as occasion may require, for the general 
good, knowledge and prosperity- are inevitable. And 
I am not surprised at the evidences of the prosperity and 
success of the farmers of this section of the state. 

Another beneficial effect of your enterprising spirit and 
of the formation of associations like this,is the stinmlation of 



the inventive spirit and genius of the country. The re- 
sult of which we see in the multitude of labor saving in- 
struments and implements gathered here upon these 
grounds; for it is to you quite as much as the inventors 
to whom we are indebted for the inventions made. The 
sub-soil plow, the threshing machine, the mowing ma- 
chine and reaper, and the many other inventions and 
improvements are invented and produced only in obedi- 
ence to your call, or I should say your demand. 

The inventive genius which produces and provides 
these things, would slumber on forever were the farmers too 
indolent to use them, or too ignorant to appreciate their 
worth. I state to you nothing new when I say, that the 
records of the patent office at Washington will show, that 
in those parts of the country where agriculture is in its 
rudest state, and where the land is poorly tilled, there 
are no inventors, or scarcely any. The reason is that 
there is nothing there to stimulate or call out the inventive 
genius of the people. It is to you and farmers of other sec- 
tions, who are willing and desirous to adopt and profit by 
any real improvements made, and who are capable of judg- 
ing of the merits of the inventions, that we are indebted 
for all such progress. 

Looking back through the last century, we find man 
has been elevated from the slave of Nature's elements to 
the position of their master. Instead of living in con- 
stant dread of them, he renders them, even in their wild- 
est eccentricities, subservient to his use and profit. Science 
has taught him that while he uses the Sowings of her wa- 
ters at home for productive purposes, their transforma- 
tion into steam, has become the power by which he is pro- 
pelled, as with the speed of wind, over land and sea. 

Man, with the lasso of science has caught the vivid 
lightning from the surcharged atmosphere, and tamed it 
down to become the swift post-horse of his words, and the 



trumpet through which nation speaks to nation upon 
themes of commerce and fraternal affection, as rapidly as 
thought follows thought. 

If I mistake not, man is o'^ly in the early dawn of his 
intellectual greatness. That immortal command must yet 
be obeyed, "First know thyself, enough for man to know." 
His inquisitiveness and ambition impel him onward and 
upward, while science unveils to him at every step, some 
hidden mystery; some new developement of creative pow- 
er. Who shall say, that within the next half century 
some Newton, some Franklin, or some Field, shall not pin 
his name to the escutcheon of his century, by yoking the 
electric fluid to the aerial car, to be at man's command 
and use, like the sea-vessel of to-day, in the hands of the 
trusty mariner. 

Man's progressive nature is evinced and measured by 
the growth of agriculture. But time admonishes me that 
I must leave this subject also. 

Gladly would I extend my remarks, by imparting to 
you my views in regard to the composition, exhaustion, 
and improvement of soils, the rotation of crops, the culti- 
vation of fruit, and such other agricultural subjects as I have 
acquired a knowledge of, and as to which I have well de- 
fined convictions. But with all your study and experience 
on those subjects, I will not flatter myself that I could in- 
crease your knowledge or change your convictions should I 
differ with you. 

More pleasing to you now, more eloquent than any words 
of mine, are the sights and sounds of nature all around us. 
I feel that influence myself, and I yield to it with 
pleasure. 

In closing, I will say to the farmers of Wayne County, 
that agriculture should not be made a repulsive pursuit to 
your children; — when I say this, I include your daughters 



also, for I think they should be admitted to equal rights 
in this country. 

Grudge not your sons, that which will make them truly 
wise. 

Educate your children as highly as you can afford ; — a 
good education is far better for them than untold wealth 
with an empty brain. 

Give them their legacies while you live, by enriching 
their minds, and you endow them with that, which can- 
not be taken from them after your death. 

Irradiate the homestead with volumes of living, prac- 
tical thoughts, and noble sentiments ; and it will become 
endeared to your children. 

Adorn the farmhouse with grand instructors of every 
character, . and your children will become readers and 
thinkers. 

When investing your earnings, remember the claims of 
art and literature. 

The ordinary farmer of to-day, can have a better libra- 
ry than William the Conqueror could have acquired in 
his time. 

Make home pleasant to the hearts and understandings 
of your sons, and instead of leaving the plow for more 
exciting, — though less nuble — pursuits, they will rise to 
an intelligent appreciation of their calling. 

With these opportunities, the minds of your children 
will evolve original thoughts and noble ideas ; and they 
will learn the appropriate language of expression. 

As the plow often reveals the hidden treasures of 
buried nations, so may the plowman discover new and 
important facts, that will aid the progress of science. 

The farmer's life is a noble one: — more men have been 



23 

taken from the field to become rulers of people than from 
any other vocation. 

The plow is the true emblem of industry : — of it 

* * * •' the rural Maro sung. 

To wide imperial Rome, in the full height 

Of elegance and taste, by Greece refined. 

In ancient times, the sacred plow employ'd 

The kings and awful fathers of mankind; 

And some, with whom compared your insect tribes 

Are but the beings of a summer's day, 

Have held the scale of empire, ruled the storm 

Of mighty war ; then, with victorious hand, 

Disdaining glories of the crown, seized 

The plow, and, greatly independent, scorn'd 

All the vile stores corruption can bestow. 

Ye generous Yeomen, venerate the plow; 
For o'er your hills and long-withdrawing vales 
Autumi^ has spread her treasures to the sun, 
Luxuriant and unbounded ! As the sea, 
Far through his azure turbulent domain. 
Your empire owns, and, trom a thousand shores, 
Wafts all the pomp of life into your ports; 
So with superior boon may your rich soil, 
Exuberant, Nature's better blessings pour 
O'er every land, the naked nations clothe, 
And be the exhaustless granary of the world ! " 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




